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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

The TSX Venture Exchange fell 6.55 points to 720.40 Thursday. Bei Nie's shell graduate and on-line retailer, Astron Connect Inc. (AST: $0.25), began trading today. It opened at 24 cents and closed at 25 cents on 25,000 shares. Astron, formerly called Sachiel Connect Inc., is a Vancouver company that mainly sells bottled B.C. spring water on-line to customers in China. Its website also offers other Canadian products such as honey, smoked salmon, potato chips, cocktail mixes and gourmet sauces. Most of its suppliers are aboriginal. It has also sold products to customers in Africa and New Zealand, but most of its buyers are in China. It is not yet profitable.

Astron's founder, Mrs. Nie, lives in Richmond, B.C., and holds 23.9 million shares or 47 per cent of Astron's shares. She was previously the chief executive officer of F-Pacific Optical Communication Co. Ltd., a Richmond manufacturer of fibre optic components. Earlier in her career, in the 1990s, she worked at fibre optic companies in China.

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